Cold days, warm hearts

It’s cold.  Again.  I am feeling like we live in the old Gary Larson comic with the 2 people standing outside an igloo. This week has been a typical winter, which is to say it has been a bad week for running.  Monday was a blue day, the sky, the snow, even the antelope were shades of blue.  Gary was blue too.  Cloudy days affect him that way, it is a wonder he made it through adolescence in Kansas where the gray clouds hang so low you almost feel you could brush them away like so many cobwebs. 

The weight of the race weighed hard on him that day.  The inability to run and train, the worries of leaving the house and animals and the worries of travel in a place with ‘travel advisories’.  He was even worried about the people who have offered support, even just encouragement.  From somewhere in his ‘wayback’ he feels beholden to people who offer help and becomes terrified at the prospect of failing. 

But yesterday was beautiful; quite literally the calm before the storm.  The weather forecast issued a ‘winter storm warning’ and apparently Mother Nature didn’t want to disappoint.  Still it has been a week of kindness; Wednesday brought a package from Bob, the coach, with a specially designed camelback pack- the Scott Jurek model.  It looks like the ticket and has just come off the line.  Today brought a gift from our nephew for supplies.  Additionally my stitch & bitch called to let me know there will be a special session just for my origami ponies for the race, but more of that later.